Saturday, January 09, 2010

No more appropriate time to introduce Tagalog in my posts than now. Yesterday, mom and me went to quiapo church to hear mass on the last day of the novena to the Black Nazarene. We chanced on Bishop Teodoro Bacani officiating the mass and I like what he said.

Paano nga ba maging tunay na deboto sa Nuestro Padre Jesus Nazareno? Tanong ni Bishop Bacani: "Ano ba ang ginawa ng Poong Nazareno para sa atin? Hindi ba pinasan niya ang krus ng paghihirap para sa ating lahat?" It goes to say that if we are the real kind of devotees, we try to emulate his example and carry others crosses and not give our brothers and sisters crosses to carry for us. People who get drunk become crosses to the wives they go home to, to their families who have to take care of them. People whose cigarette smoke become a burden to their neighbors. Wiping handkerchiefs and professing faithfulness to the Image of the Black Nazarene doesn't compare to people who live their lives like him.

Never argue, complain, or blame. Quickly admit when you have done wrong and ask for forgiveness (even if you were only 10% at fault). Don't wait till you’re caught. Be sure your sins will find you out. He who covers his sin will not prosper, but he that confesses and forsakes it shall find mercy.

Have a tough accountability/prayer partner to daily share your heart with and to keep you in line (your parents, spouse). The power of sin is in secrecy.

Be attentive and look for ways to serve others with sincere motives and no thought of self-gain.

Never let the sun go down on your wrath. (Don’t go to bed angry or guilty)

Amendment J.O.Y. -

Put Jesus first, Others second, Yourself last.

The duggar family (http://www.duggarfamily.com/) is the star of the reality show 19 and counting. They have 19 children and are financially stable and self supporting even before their show started. The children are home-schooled. they are devout christians and is somehow now a model family. They defy their seeming potential for chaos by their sheer number by their good faith and principles in living. I can only hope that my family, present and future, be like them -- hahahaha not their number (well why not) but their success in the way they raise and teach their children.

Fr. Alarcon's sermon yesterday, on the feast of the epiphany, put emphasis on how the Magi are called to be "wise." He asks, "Ano ang pagiging Pantas?" (How is one called wise?). He shares that for one to be called wise, one must have two things: Knowledge and Experience. He continues... "a fresh graduate applying for a job may be knowledgeable, but he is not wise, for he doesn't have the experience of someone who has spent years in the company. A newly wed couple may be knowledgeable on marriage, but they don't have the wisdom of those who celebrate their 25th, 50th or 60th wedding anniversary."

Why do we need to have wisdom? To fully grasp Christ's teachings. We don't only need the knowledge Catechism teaches us. We need the experience to understand them. The wise men were considered wise in their time because they knew how to interpret the stars. It was the science of their times. They knew something important was happening and sought the mysterious light. They didn't only know something was happening. They lived it. They experienced it.

What did Matthew say about the Magi? Matthew didn't mention there were three but mentioned that the Magi from the east bore three gifts . Gold, Frankincense and Myrrh. Symbolizing the three roles Christ was to undertake. King, priest, and the ultimate sacrifice. Tradition gave us the names. Caspar or Gaspar, Melchor, and Balthazar.

The Magi had the tenacity to seek out Christ. Similar to us, we don't know the exact path or formula to discover Jesus, we only have but a simple guide that lights our way. In our way are a lot of Herods tempting us and tricking us to hand over our salvation. May we like the Magi keep our eyes on our target. Seeing Jesus and someday kneel at the foot of His throne to bear him the gift of us.